Irretrievable Marriage Breakdown: How No-Fault Divorce Law Offers Dignified Exit

In a quiet, yet revolutionary shift across the judicial landscape of Anglophone Cameroon, High Courts have begun enforcing the UK’s Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (DDSA 2020), introducing a modern "no-fault" divorce framework to the regions.

Championed by legal practitioners and judges in the North West and South West Regions, this sweeping legal reform eliminates the long-standing requirement to prove marital fault, cruelty, or public accusation in order to legally end a statutory marriage.

1955 High Court Law

For decades, statutory divorce law across Anglophone Cameroon remained firmly anchored in Section 11 of the Southern Cameroons High Court Law 1955 (SCHL 1955). As the foundational reception statute for the English-speaking regions, Section 11 dictates that High Courts shall apply the Common Law, Doctrines of Equity, and Statutes of General Application in force in England on January 1, 1900, as far as local circumstances permit.

Matrimonial Causes Act 1973

Through judicial interpretation, Cameroonian courts imported the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) of England to govern divorce in English-speaking Cameroon. Under the 1973 regime, a petitioner could only obtain a divorce by proving that the marriage had broken down irretrievably. Which required establishing one of five specific facts: adultery by the respondent, unreasonable behaviour, desertion for two years, two years’ separation with consent, or five years’ separation without consent.

This fault-based system forced spouses into adversarial conflict, compelling one party to publicly accuse the other of wrongdoing. Even when both desired a peaceful, mutual parting.

1804 French Civil Code

By contrast, the eight Francophone regions of Cameroon operate under Articles 229 through 310 of the 1804 French Civil Code (Code Napoléon) as amended at independence. The French Civil Code employs a more inquisitorial procedure, granting significant conciliation powers to the President of the Court and providing explicit avenues for mutual consent divorce (divorce par consentement mutuel). This sharp contrast has sustained a major legal anomaly since reunification: two entirely distinct family law systems coexisting within the same country.

Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020

The adoption of the English DDSA 2020, which originally came into force in England on April 6, 2022, effectively updates MCA 1973 within Anglophone jurisdictions. Under the updated legal framework, the sole statutory ground for divorce - irretrievable breakdown of marriage - is preserved.

But the five mandatory fault-based facts are completely abolished. Petitioners are no longer required to provide particulars of misconduct or allege public blame. Instead, filing a sole or joint Statement of Irretrievable Breakdown is now sufficient. And courts accept this statement as conclusive evidence that the marriage has ended.

20-Week Reflection Period

Furthermore, the new framework prevents respondents from contesting a divorce simply on the claim that the marriage has not broken down. Challenges can now only be raised on narrow technical grounds, such as court jurisdiction, marital validity, or procedural fraud. The law also modernizes legal terminology, replacing Decree Nisi with Conditional Order and Decree Absolute with Final Order.

To ensure parties do not rush into dissolution, the law establishes a mandatory minimum timeframe of 26 weeks (~6 months) from initial application to final decree. Including a built-in 20-week reflection period intended for mediation, arrangements for children, and financial settlements before divorce is granted by the court.

Pioneered By Fako High Court

According to prominent legal expert Nfor Dieudonne Nkeh, Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Courts of Nigeria and Cameroon based in Buea, the local enforcement of DDSA 2020 began unofficially in the Fako High Court in Buea in early 2024. A judge accepted a sole divorce application sup...